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Slovene leader seeks re-election Opposition leads Slovenia's polls
(about 16 hours later)
Slovenia is voting in an election pitting the governing conservatives and the social-democratic rivals. Slovenia's opposition is holding a razor-thin lead over the ruling party of PM Janez Jansa, near-complete results from parliamentary polls show.
Slovenia, the richest of the former Yugoslav states, was also the first east European state to adopt the Euro. With 97% of the votes counted, the Social Democrats had 30.5% of the vote against 29.2% for the centre-right Slovenian Democrats, officials said.
Prime Minister Janez Jansa and his conservative Slovene Democratic Party are claiming credit for the country's increased prosperity. But they said the vote was too close to predict the outcome.
Slovenia, the richest of the former Yugoslav states, is a member of the European Union and Nato.
It was also the first east European state to adopt the Euro.
Mr Jansa's party is claiming credit for the country's increased prosperity.
But unemployment, at 6%, is the highest among the 15 countries which use the Euro currency.But unemployment, at 6%, is the highest among the 15 countries which use the Euro currency.
And inflation, also running at 6%, is another unwelcome Eurozone high. The centre-right government has also frequently been accused of corruption.
The conservative-led government has also frequently been accused of corruption. Coalition allies
Janza is hoping to gain a new four-year mandate Earlier on Sunday, two separate exit polls gave the Social Democrats led by Borut Pahor a 4% lead over Mr Jansa's party.
The main challengers are Borut Pahor's Social Democrats, who offer a stronger welfare state, partly funded by cuts in military spending. Mr Jansa is hoping to gain a new four-year mandate
Slovenia is a member of Nato, and nearly half her armed forces are deployed on peace-keeping missions abroad. The outcome of the election may be determined by the performance of smaller parties which will be needed as coalition allies in the 90-seat parliament, the BBC's Nick Thorpe reports.
The outcome of the election may be determined by the performance of smaller parties which will be needed as coalition allies in the 90 seat Parliament, the BBC's Nick Thorpe reports. The exit polls suggested that two allies of the Social Democrats did well in the polls.
Polls opened at 0500GMT and will close at 1700GMT, with 1.7 million people eligible to vote. While the economic policies of the two main parties are similar, a left-leaning government could be expected to focus more on the redistribution of wealth to poorer parts of society, our correspondent says.
Polls opened at 0500GMT and closed at 1700GMT. Some 1.7 million people were eligible to vote.